Buildings insurance

Buildings insurance covers the physical structure of your home — walls, roof, windows, and fixed fittings like kitchens and bathrooms — against risks like fire, flood, storm damage and subsidence. If you have a mortgage, your lender will almost always require you to have adequate buildings cover as a condition of the loan.

Contents insurance

Contents insurance covers your belongings — furniture, electronics, clothing, and personal possessions — against theft, fire, and accidental damage, depending on the policy. Unlike buildings insurance, contents cover is optional, though widely recommended, and is relevant to both homeowners and renters.

Getting the sum insured right

Underinsuring is a common and costly mistake — insurers can reduce a claim payout proportionally if your declared contents or rebuild value was too low ("average" clauses), even for an otherwise valid claim. For buildings insurance, the figure needed is the rebuild cost (what it would cost to reconstruct the property from scratch), which is usually quite different from — and often lower than — the property's market value.

Common exclusions and add-ons to check

  • Accidental damage is often an optional add-on, not included as standard.
  • High-value single items (jewellery, expensive electronics, bicycles) may need to be individually specified beyond a standard per-item limit.
  • Property left unoccupied for an extended period (common with second homes) can void cover unless specifically arranged.
  • Some policies exclude certain types of flood or subsidence risk in higher-risk areas, or charge significantly more for it.

Combined policies

Many providers offer combined buildings and contents policies, sometimes at a lower combined cost than buying separately, and with the convenience of a single renewal date and one insurer to deal with in the event of a claim affecting both the structure and contents.

Key takeaways

  • Buildings insurance covers the structure; contents insurance covers your belongings — they're separate covers.
  • Insure buildings for rebuild cost, not market value, to avoid underinsurance penalties.
  • Check for exclusions like unoccupied-property clauses and single-item limits.
  • Combined policies can be more convenient and sometimes cheaper than separate cover.